NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Christopher Newport University begins play in the inaugural Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament on Friday, as the top-seeded Captains host the fourth-seeded Banana Slugs of UC Santa Cruz in a semifinal battle. Game time is set for 5:00 p.m. at the Freeman Center.

Click HERE for the Captains complete game notes package, featuring rosters, stats, and team information.

CNU is 22-2 and riding a 19-game winning streak entering Friday's action. John Krikorian's squad is ranked fourth in the country for the fourth straight week, and the Captains are coming off a 68-67 win at Mary Washington last Saturday to conclude the regular season. CNU is 13-0 at home this year, and 44-2 over its last 46 home games.

UC Santa Cruz opened the C2C Tournament Thursday afternoon at the Freeman Center with an 80-48 quarterfinal victory over the Cannoneers of Pratt Institute. The Banana Slugs are now 6-17, and have won three straight games as well as four of their last six. Pratt's season came to an end with a 5-18 mark.

Christopher Newport and UC Santa Cruz met twice in January in California, and the Captains registered two victories over the Slugs by scores of 85-62 and 66-56. The games were the first meetings ever of the programs.  

Following the Captains and Banana Slugs, Friday's semifinals will continue with a 7:30 p.m. game featuring second-seeded Mary Washington and third-seeded Salisbury. The Eagles and Sea Gulls will be meeting for the third time this year, and SU has won both previous encounters. The winners of Friday's games will meet Saturday at 7:00 p.m. at the Freeman Center in the Championship game.

All Captains games are broadcast live on the Christopher Newport/Pepsi Radio Network (Xtra 99.1 FM) with the pre-game show beginning Friday at 4:40 p.m. The video of the games will also be streamed live, and you can watch the action by clicking HERE.